Eating at your desk or while walking down the street will save you time - but it may put pounds on your waistline.

Experts today warn of a growing culture of ‘al desko’ dining, in which people do not take the time out to have a proper meal.

Health psychologists at Surrey University warn that eating while distracted means we effectively ‘forget’ that we have eaten.

Health psychologists at Surrey University warn that eating while distracted means we effectively ‘forget’ that we have eaten and suggest a sit-down meal is the best way of easing hunger (file picture, posed by a model)

Whether checking email, watching television or dashing for a bus - if someone eats while distracted, they will remain hungry and want to eat again later.

The study, published in the Journal of Health Psychology, suggests that a sit-down meal is the best way of easing hunger.

Lead author Professor Jane Ogden said: ‘Al desko diners run the risk of increasing their food intake later in the day which can lead to weight gain and obesity.

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‘Making time for lunch and sitting down at the table is actually good for our waistline.

‘When you’re at a table, away from your desk and distractions, you actually think, “this is food, this is a meal”, and you remember it and you count it.

‘Importantly, this also means you’re much less likely to snack later on. Your brain calls it food, calls it a meal and, therefore, you feel fuller.’

She added: ‘Fullness is not only the result of brain and chemical reactions, but a perception that is influenced by learning, emotion and distraction.

‘If we eat “on the go” or in front of a computer, we will feel less full as our attention is diverted away from the meal and we don’t learn the association between food and mealtimes.’

Her team found that people who ate while walking around went on to later consume five times more calories than those who ate while sitting down with a friend.

Sixty volunteers were given a cereal bar to eat under three different conditions.

The first group was asked to watch a five-minute clip of the sitcom ‘Friends’ while eating.

The second group was asked to walk around the corridor while consuming the cereal bar, and the third group was simply asked to sit opposite a friend and have a conversation.

After the experiment, participants completed a follow-up questionnaire and a taste test involving four different bowls of snacks, including chocolate, carrot sticks, grapes and crisps. How much they ate was measured after they left the room.

The results showed that the participants ate five times as many calories at the taste test if they had eaten the initial cereal bar whilst walking around.

People who were watching television also ate a lot, and those who had been sitting down with a friend ate the least in the follow-up test.

Although the team did not test people who ate at a desk, Professor Ogden said the same principle applied.

‘Any form of distraction, including eating at our desks can lead to weight gain,’ she said.

‘When we don’t fully concentrate on our meals and the process of taking in food, we fall into a trap of mindless eating where we don’t track or recognise the food that has just been consumed.

‘Try and build a proper lunch break away from the office into your schedule.’